Ras Al Khaimah has continued to outperform the wider UAE and regional tourism markets, according to the latest Ras Al Khaimah MarketView by global real estate consultancy firm CBRE.

The emirate’s hospitality market has soared by recording a 10.9 per cent increase in full year visitor arrivals and a 9.8 per cent growth in the average occupancy rate, taking the annual occupancy to 71 per cent.

Average residential rental rates are starting to edge towards stabilisation, with just a minor 1 per cent decline recorded during the quarter, taking the full year drop to around 5 per cent.

According to the Q4 2016 Ras Al Khaimah MarketView, the emirate’s hospitality market maintained positive growth into the final quarter, recording an average occupancy rate of over 73 per cent during the final three months of the year.

The emirate’s overall performance has remained strong, with hotels posting growth across the key RevPAR metric, led by the positive occupancy growth, after a 4 per cent decline in ADR’s during the same period.

According to figures from RAKTDA, visitor numbers have also risen during the year, with guest arrivals increasing from around 740,000 in 2015, to reach close to 821,000 during 2016, reflecting 10.9% growth. The number of international tourists has also increased, now equating to 59% of the total hotel guests. Research also highlighted that total guest nights reached over 2.73 million during the year, up 15.6% from 2015.